Quote · My First Million
How the Ex-Goldman CEO actually invests his own money
Where this was said
What the worst traders have in common
At 9:08 · chapter starts 5:23
Sam Parr asks Blankfein what separated Goldman's best traders from those who couldn't make it. The answer is both humbling and clarifying. The gap in raw ability between the best and the rest is often minuscule — Blankfein compares it to a one-stroke margin of victory in a golf tournament with six players tied for second [1] — Lloyd Blankfein "The gap between a trader who makes it and one who doesn't is tiny — like one stroke in a golf tournament. But in winner-take-all markets, t…" 08:46 . But in winner-take-all markets, that tiny margin means everything: the best actor in Hollywood gets any part; the second-best waits tables. Blankfein extends the logic to minor league baseball, where roughly 2% of players ever earn a full living from the sport. The takeaway for aspiring investors and entrepreneurs: mastery is about marginal improvements at the frontier of performance, not dramatic talent differences. Blankfein also weaves in his own career: he credits his rise to Goldman's top partly to luck, specifically that his predecessor left for a Treasury Secretary nomination.
Blankfein became Goldman CEO because his predecessor was tapped as Treasury Secretary. Had that not happened, he might have been too old by the time the seat opened. Luck, he says, matters as much as skill.
Lloyd Blankfein became CEO of Goldman Sachs largely because his predecessor was nominated as Treasury Secretary — illustrating the role of luck in career success.
The gap between a trader who makes it and one who doesn't is tiny — like one stroke in a golf tournament. But in winner-take-all markets, that tiny gap means everything. The best actor gets any part in Hollywood; the second-best waits tables.
